A CRISIS threatening the region's postal delivery services is still unresolved, with desperate Royal Mail bosses drafting in agency staff to cope with a huge workload.

The move comes as several North-East sorting offices continue to face serious problems implementing a cost-cutting scheme to combine first and second posts.

The difficulties emerged last month as postmen and women had to work more than double their standard shifts - some returning as late as 7pm - in an effort to get mail delivered.

The lengthy delays in receiving post infuriated residents and businesses, many of which complained they could not operate efficiently without early deliveries.

Services in Darlington were particularly hit hard, with some mail being delivered on Sundays to clear backlogs from the previous day.

The town's sorting office also reported many workers going off sick with stress - said to be because of the pressures of the new system.

At the time, Royal Mail chiefs met representatives of the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) and it was understood they had agreed on a solution.

But union officials have now revealed to The Northern Echo that the problems are no closer to being resolved.

And they say the delivery service has improved lately only because agency staff have been brought in to help deal with the workload.

Tom Clark, the union's area delivery representative for Darlington and Durham, said workers felt management's promises had been broken.

He said staff were expecting resources to be put into checking the problems by testing the rounds of postmen and women, which are supposed to take about three-and-a-half hours.

But that had hardly started and there were still many walks extending beyond that time.

Mr Clark said: "We're experiencing the same problems as Darlington in the Durham and Derwentside offices at the moment as well.

"If the agency staff weren't there, the problem would be just as bad as before - and we won't have agency staff for ever.

"This system was also supposed to give delivery postmen a £26-a-week bonus that they are not getting."

He added: "The problems will go on unless something is done, because staff get demoralised if they see no progress being made and the customer loses faith in Royal Mail."

Another meeting between the CWU and Royal Mail bosses is due to take place in Darlington this week in a bid to make some headway.

CWU Darlington branch secretary Phil Graham said: "There is a lack of commitment locally by Royal Mail management to resolve these issues.

"Of all the delivery walks we have, two have been tested to see where the problems are.

"That's like putting a single grain of sugar in a cup of coffee and saying that makes it sweet.

"We're not militant people. We want to make the single daily delivery work, but if it isn't planned properly there are bound to be difficulties."

What Royal Mail has described as "teething problems" have affected many parts of the country since the introduction of the single daily delivery.

In Birmingham, there have been reports of family members taking evening meal parcels to postal workers still pounding the streets late into the night.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "We're doing whatever we can to provide the service, and if we need to take on temporary staff, we do.

"We continue to meet with the union and have a meeting planned to review progress in Darlington since the last discussions."